Pros
Working with some great docs who are dedicated to their patients and to the practice of medicine. They love teaching, and don't mind being interrupted by the PA for patient-specific consultations. Excellent pay and benefits. Excellent CME opportunities.
Cons
Many of the physicians stress "patients-per-hour" over quality of care. They instruct the PA to do only the minimum level of care required, regardless of patient comfort or satisfaction. They admonish a PA that asks too many questions. While the docs follow a progressive work schedule based upon "physician wellness", the schedule for PAs is brutal, alternating nights/days in the same 5-day period, with the PAs working the most unpleasant shifts, mostly weekends. You may end up with 6 - 8 different supervising physicians in one shift, each with their own quirks and biases and attitudes. Very difficult to navigate through these strong personalities. Benefit package and CME reimbursement are handled by Corporate in Oakland. Everything else is handled by the local Medical Director including hiring/firing, pay, scheduling, and job-performance evaluation. The excellent CME reimbursement is worthless if the local MD won't give you time off to attend it. The key is to have a good rapport with the local Medical Director. This is not always possible, and if you are terminated or receive a bad performance evaluation at one CEP site will not be hired at another CEP site.
